Results update : Sorry to taken me 2 weeks to... - Thyroid UK

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Results update

26 Replies

Sorry to taken me 2 weeks to post an update.

Well my gp came out to see me regarding the dizziness floor moving again. He did a ton of bloods and all came back pretty good.

My tsh has gone from 5.35 to 2.91. The range is 0.35-5.5.

My t4 has gone from 11 to 10.2. The range is 7-17.

My ferritin has gone from 15 to 31!!! So happy about this. My ferritin hand turned over 15 in 9 years.

B12 was 212, it's now 501.

My hb is 15!

So all seem well. My damn cholesterol which runs in mums family is high at 6.9.

So my gp says I am fine and my tsh is now normal.due to my ferritin improving. So can I be rest assured my thyroid is ok? These results are from 2 weeks ago. My toe virus bloods were at the end of August.

I'm to have them all repeated in 9 months.

My gp said the floor moving and dizziness is nothing but stress and wnziety. My daily exhausting and brain fog is from my anxiety disorder and to stop worruing as all tests were clear.

The only reason I still worry is the bloods were taken at 12 pm. I had eaten breakfast before he took my blood so I worry would that affect the result.

I am ok but daily I have the fatigue and brain fog. Chronic anxiety that I've had 3 years. Just general lethargy along with occasional spells where I feel the ground moving and feeling unsready. My gp asoured me I passed all the muscle and coordination tests and bloods as long as my arm ; )

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26 Replies
rosetrees profile image
rosetrees

Have you had your adrenal function tested? I would consider ordering the saliva cortisol test from GenovaUK. Instructions are on the main thyroid UK website.

in reply to rosetrees

Thank you. If I get that tested what would that indicate?

rosetrees profile image
rosetrees in reply to

You have classic symptoms of endocrine function disorder. Your TSH is too high. The TSH of a healthy population averages 1.5 (I'll put the references below) and your FT4 is too low. Your doctor has no idea what level they need to be for you, as an individual patient, to feel well.

Anxiety is a classic symptom of poorly performing adrenals. Your doctor won't even acknowledge that this can happen, so you will have to order the test privately.

Both your thyroid and adrenal function are controlled by your pituitary. If your pituitary isn't working effectively then you might also have sex hormone problems. I'm assuming that you are female? Do you have period problems too?

Finally, have you considered getting properly tested for Lyme Disease and/or co-infections. I believe it to be the underlying cause for far more thyroid/adrenal issues than most people realise. Including auto-immune problems.

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator

If you are on levothyroxine and your TSH is 2.91 it is still far too high and you will have symptoms. You need an increase in levothyroxine. Your T4 has dropped slightly so your GP should do a Free T3 blood test to see if you are converting T4 to T3. It is T3 we need as it's the active hormone every receptor cell requires. Your FT3 should be towards the upper part of the range.

Thyroiduk.org is on leave until 5th January but in the meantime this is an excerpt which Dr Toft, ex President of the BTA says the aim should be:-

6 What is the correct dose of thyroxine and is there any rationale for adding in tri-iodothyronine?

The appropriate dose of levothyroxine is that which restores euthyroidism and serum TSH to the lower part of the reference range – 0.2-0.5mU/l.

In this case, free thyroxine is likely to be in the upper part of its reference range or even slightly elevated – 18-22pmol/l. Most patients will feel well in that circumstance.

But some need a higher dose of levothyroxine to suppress serum TSH and then the serum-free T4 concentration will be elevated at around 24-28pmol/l.

This ‘exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism’ is not dangerous as long as serum T3 is unequivocally normal – that is, serum total around T3 1.7nmol/l (reference range 1.0-2.2nmol/l).

Even while taking the slightly higher dose of levothyroxine a handful of patients continue to complain that a sense of wellbeing has not been restored. A trial of levothyroxine and tri-iodothyronine is not unreasonable. The dose of levothyroxine should be reduced by 50µg daily and tri iodothyronine in a dose of 10µg (half a tablet) daily added."

You can advise your GP as many make the mistake of thinking anywhere in the TSH range is fine, o.k. or normal. Not so.

If he wants an actual copy of the Pulse online article, email louise.warvill@thyroiduk.org.uk

in reply to shaws

Thank you.

No I don't take any medication for thyroid. I haven't been on anything my gp has just been monitoring it and wasn't even concerned when my thyroid was 5.35 in August.

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator in reply to

Some do treat along with clinical symptoms when TSH is around 5 but some are sticklers to the guidelines which say the TSH has to reach 10. I think the UK is the only country in the world which has such a high TSH.

Marz profile image
Marz

Were you supplementing B12 when you had the test ? If so then the test is really not telling you anything. If you read up on B12 you will see that once supplementing tests are a waste of time. B12 is needed in the cells - and the test shows what is in the blood - so the supplements will have inflated the result. ONLY 20% of your B12 result will be available to be used in the cells. Please do not stop taking B12 it is vitally important. Also take a good B Complex to keep all the B's in balance.

Raised cholesterol is linked to low thyroid hormones and in the past - before thyroid testing - anyone with raised cholesterol had their thyroid treated ! Hopefully you are not being treated with Statins. Having an optimal thyroid should do the trick !

Did you have your VitD tested ?

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

The above link will tell you everything about B12 - so please take time to have a read. Scroll down for the signs and symptoms.....

I agree with others that your TSH is too high. Most people feel better with a result of 1 or lower....

in reply to Marz

Thank you for your help.

Yes I have been supplementin my b12 and my ferritin with iron. I read that low ferritin can cause poor thyroid function? And mine is always low so maybe that's also a reason my thyroid is better?

I think I will get a private test for the thyroid and go from there.

Thank you.

in reply to Marz

And no I don't take statins.

I just read the link. I don't have any if the symptoms really. Maybe a few but some seem pretty general.

Should I not have supplemented b12? I was told I should have.

Marz profile image
Marz in reply to

Yes you should supplement B12 - your results were VERY low !

in reply to Marz

Right ok. It's increased quite a bit which is good.

I'm so confused because my tsh is now lower so my gp has said all is fine and gone back to normal. Yesterday every day I feel terrible. Exhausted beyond belief despite sleep, weakness, brain fog and sluggish. I'm 36! !! I have 3 children. I feel low and anxious. Yes I had anxiety before all this started, hence why my gp thinks I'm just tired from anxiety.

Marz profile image
Marz in reply to

Yes B12 has increased - read my earlier reply which explains about the amount of B12 in the blood. Your result has only improved because you are supplementing....but is needed in the cells.

Please read the other posts again as well - which will explain some of the things you have just mentioned.

Justiina profile image
Justiina

You ate and the bloods were taken too late. So testing thyroid was sort of pointless and your doctor is clueless. He should have known that. But this you were told before :)

I would test privately and take antibodies too. It is very easy for you guys living there to get blue horizon test!

in reply to Justiina

Thank you. I will use that test.

Justiina profile image
Justiina in reply to

It doesn't mean you would not have two separate issues but treating anxiety if your thyroid issues are not addressed properly , is waste of time. When your thyroid is under control it is much easier to concentrate on symptoms that might be caused by stress because you do have stress too. Thyroid issues are not going to just disappeare because you doctor says so.

in reply to Justiina

I agreeat. I've said if my thyroid was ok surely I'd feel better overall.

Daily I feel fatigued and sluggish. Foguy head and heavy eyes. It's horrible. I don't get out much as I feel anxious in places feeling like that. It's rubbish.

My gp says all thyroid results are fine so not to worry so I feel I can't change his mind. My t4 is 10.2 but it's within range.

One thing is my parathyroid was tested in August and it was 2. Range was 2 - 9 I think. That wasn't re tested this time.

debjs profile image
debjs

I get the dizziness floor moving thing when I am under medicated and if I have been very busy and am tired but it has usually recovered in the morning. For me it is definitely a hypothyroid symptom.

greygoose profile image
greygoose

You haven't been tested for antibodies, have you? I think you might have Hashi's, which would explain the TSH going up and down. No, I Don't think you can rest assured that your thyroid is OK. For one thing, your cholesterol is slightly high, and that is a sign of hypo - not to mention your TSH and your low FT4, which has gone down.

The tests you need are TPO ab and TgAB. If either of them are high, you have Hashi's.

Brain fog, anxiety, Dizzy spells, they're all symptoms of hypo. And I agree with Justina, your doctor has no idea what he's talking about.

in reply to greygoose

Thank you.

I begged my gp to do the hashimotos test but he said they can't unless my tsh is out of range.

Is my free t4 bad at 10.2? It was 11.

My ferritin has improved alot so could that have affected my thyroid being so low? I once read low ferritin causes tsh levels to be out of wack.

Thank you.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

I've never read that low ferritin causes TSH levels to be out of wack. What it does is affect conversion of T4 to T3. And it's the T3 that is important, not the TSH.

T3 is the active hormone that is needed by every single cell in the body. TSH will be high if T3 is low, normally. But TSH is very unreliable.

And, if your FT4 is that low - it's not even mid-range - your FT3 is bound to be lower. And the problem is that your FT4 has gone down, rather than up, which it needs to do.

Are they planning to test you again? Because next time it's possible that the TSH will be out of range, and then they can test for Hashi's.

Or, as you say, it might just have been that because your ferritin is so low, it affected your conversion and made you hypo. But even so, your FT4 is so low, you haven't got much to convert! But only time will tell. You need to get tested again in, say, three months, and see how things have Evolved.

in reply to greygoose

Is 10.2 very low. The range is 7-17 here.

I hope private with blue horizon will that test for hashimotos? I'm considering doing that because my gp thinks my thyroid is fine now and said he will retest in a year and that was only because I said I still want it being kept an eye on due to my mum and her family being hypothyroid.

I am guessing having my thyroid tested at 12 pm was a bad idea and maybe the tsh was lower due to that?

Thank you for your help. I am feeling grimace fed up of being told it's just my anxiety disorder. Every day I have brain fog, exhaustion, weak legs, floor loving under my feeling, weakness, low mood and anxiety over everything. It's not like me and I feel grim. I have 3 young children and feel I can't enjoy my life with them like this :( I feel too anxious to go out feeling so weak and ill every day. I'm managing little trips out but no energy to do much more and my anxiety is worse for it. Yes I had anxiety before but it got far worse this summer when the fatigue hit me hard and then the weakness and brain fog.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Anxiety isn't an illness, it's a symptom - yours is no doubt due to your low thyroid. Your doctor really doesn't know anything about it, does he.

Yes, your T4 is low. Mid-range is 12. You would need it at least mid-range to give you enough to convert to T3.

But your TSH is 2.91. A 'normal' TSH, in someone who has no thyroid problems, is between 0.85 and 1.25. In many other countries, they start treatment at 3.0. So, in other countries, you would be recognised as hypo.

And at 5.35, you were openly hypo - despite the stupid range! I Don't think anywhere in the world the range goes as high as 5.5 anymore. It's just the bunch of sadists that run the NHS that keep it that high.

And the fact that hypothyroidism runs in your family should have given your clueless doctor a clue!

And, yes, a blood test at 12 was a bad idea. Best to have it at 8.0 am, if you can, but at least before 9.0. And make it a fasting test, because TSH lowers after eating. But drink water. Doctors Don't know that.

Yes, Blue Horizon will test for antibodies, and for FT3, which would be a good idea.

It would also be a good idea to get your vit D tested, too, if you can. Low vit D will also make you feel bad. And it's pretty certain to be low at this time of the year.

in reply to greygoose

Thank you.

I told my gp all about my family history of thyroid and of high cholesterol. I begged him to do antibodies but he said he couldn't. He said let's see if your tsh is better this time and it has dropped. At 5.35 3 GPS refused to treat me all saying it wasn't abnormal at all.

I had my parathyroid tested last time and it was 2 (range 2-9) but I've no idea what parathyroid is. He didn't re test it this time though.

I even lied and said my family have hashimotos and he still refused to test me for it.

I have given up. I feel defeated. Maybe I'm destined to feel this constant fatigue and weakness. It's horrible and stops me living my life.

I had anxiety since age 19. I'm now 36 but it'd never been intense every day, it's usually waxed and waned. Now it's constant and intense and has been for 3 years. I can't even go to appointments at the moment my anxiety has been so baf, my gp came to my house due to my dizziness. I said to him I'm only feeling anxious due to how poorly I feel. Feeling constant fatigue and foggy headed just brings my anxiety on and I feel anxious going anywhere feeling so drugged up and weak. It's frightening.

He didn't test my vitamin d. In August the other gp who suspected I had thyroid issues said he wanted to test for vitamin d but he said they can't until a bone profile is done which all came back fine. He is the gp that tested my parathyroid too. He was thorough but he also said 5.35 tsh and t4 11 was ok.

Thank you for all your help. I'm going to order the blue horizon test I'm just concerned about doing it as I am useless at getting blood out on finger pricks and I'm guessing they require quite a bit.

Julie

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Julie, I'm so sorry you're having all this trouble. I wish there was more I could do to help.

But your doctors are wrong, wrong, wrong. They Don't know what they're talking about!

Anyway, get your tests done, and post the results here, and well be able to help you better. There's always self-treating, you know, if your doctors won't help. A lot of people resort to that for the same reason. And we're here to help you if you go down that road. But, whatever you do, Don't give up! I know it feels hopeless at the moment, but better times are round the corner, honestly.

As to the parathyroids, all I know is that they control calcium levels. but if you posted a new question asking about that, there are a lot of people on here who could explain it to you.

Take care. :)

in reply to greygoose

Thank you. I will.

CCSP-27 profile image
CCSP-27

Hi I've been following this thread - Im getting the jist that Statins contra indicate with Hypo? I didn't know this !

Makes me wonder what else I don't know I'm hypo for 32 years diagnosed 'post partum' and I'm on 100 Levo.

Also on Statins for raised cholesterol 😁

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